In their Week 8 matchup, the Kansas City Chiefs will play the Washington Commanders on “Monday Night Football” on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m. Arrowhead Time.
The game will pit the 4-3 Chiefs against a 3-4 Commanders squad coming off a lopsided 44-22 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys. In Week 7, Kansas City sent the Las Vegas Raiders home with a stinging 31-0 loss — and is a heavy favorite against this banged-up Washington team.
Since the start of the Patrick Mahomes era, Kansas City has an impressive 8-3 record in Monday’s primetime games, with its only home loss coming in 2022 against the Philadelphia Eagles. This week shouldn’t turn into an all-time classic, but it will give the Chiefs another chance to flex their muscles for a national audience.
Against Las Vegas, Kansas City scored touchdowns on its first four offensive possessions — and by doing so, essentially ended the game at halftime. This gave the team plenty of time to rest starters (and give reserves valuable experience) in the final quarter.
At the start of the season, this MNF game was circled on many calendars as a possible Super Bowl preview. But the Commanders have suffered a slew of serious injuries to key players — including star quarterback Jayden Daniels — and it has had a significant impact on their performance.
Kansas City needs to build on its offensive performance from last week, putting points on the scoreboard right away and building a large lead that will be too great for Washington’s offense to overcome.
In three of the next four weeks, the Chiefs will play top AFC contenders: a road game against the Buffalo Bills next Sunday — and then after the Week 10 bye, the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts in back-to-back weeks. These games will shape the AFC playoff picture — and Kansas City will need its key players to be rested for them.
2. Reserve offensive linemen
Left tackle Jaylon Moore has filled in admirably in back-to-back starts, looking good against elite pass rushers. Moore has been steady, but the Chiefs will very likely need to start another backup on Monday night.
In Week 7, right guard Trey Smith exited the game with a back injury and was replaced by Mike Caliendo, who played well to finish it out. After missing practice all week, Smith was listed as doubtful for the game.
If Smith cannot go, Caliendo will get the nod at right guard — his fourth career regular-season start. He also started at left guard in all three playoff games last season.
Having backups with starting experience is a good problem to have. Wanya Morris has likely moved up the depth chart and will probably be the next man up if another lineman goes down. Washington’s front four has not been strong this season, so even with backups in place, Kansas City should be able to run the ball and protect Mahomes.
It will be interesting to see if the Chiefs elevate a practice-squad lineman as insurance. Chu Godrick and C.J. Hanson are likely to be next in line.
3. Marcus Mariota’s return to Arrowhead
In the pre-Mahomes era, many quarterbacks tormented Kansas City fans. John Elway, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck were among those who administered painful playoff losses to the Chiefs.
But the last playoff loss of the pre-Mahomes era was sparked when Mariota — then with the Tennessee Titans — had a pass deflected back to himself and ran it in for a touchdown. Sitting in the stands that day, my “Chiefs senses” started tingling. I feared the game would soon slip away — and it did.
Mariota and Kansas City have gone in opposite directions since that game, but he is still undefeated in two starts at Arrowhead. The Chiefs need to vanquish their old playoff foe.
4. Continued touches for Brashard Smith
The rookie running back had career highs in both touches (19) and total yards (81) against Las Vegas. His production on the ground wasn’t great — mostly garbage-time carries behind the backup offensive line — but he again showed a knack for catching the football, finishing with five receptions for 42 yards.
The blowout win over the Raiders was the perfect opportunity to get the rookie some live reps. But while Kareem Hunt will be available to play on Monday night, the team may want to limit his snaps; he missed some practice time this week with a bone bruise.
So Monday night could be the first time the Chiefs truly rely on Smith for regular snaps. Last week, the coaching staff pre-loaded passes and screens designed to get Smith involved. Against the Commanders, he could be used more within the flow of the offense. We’ll see how he performs.
5. Defensive tackle depth
Kansas City’s defensive line didn’t have tremendous depth entering the 2025 season — and with the season-ending ACL injury to defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott, the group is now even thinner.
The Chiefs currently have only three defensive tackles on the active roster: Chris Jones, Derrick Nnadi and Jerry Tillery, so this is a position the team may address before the trade deadline. For now, however, defensive end Mike Danna will probably take more interior snaps — and there’s also a chance for a practice squad call-up: either Brodric Martin, Marlon Tuipulotu or Zacch Pickens.
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